Japan ranks last in education spending

Japan remained at the bottom among 32 comparable Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member states in public spending on education in 2011, an OECD survey showed Tuesday.

Public expenditure on education represented only 3.8 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, compared with the OECD average of 5.6 percent. Japan ranked bottom for the fifth consecutive year. Denmark and Norway ranked top, at 8.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the total amount of education spending per student in Japan, including spending by households, stood at $10,646, the 13th highest among the countries surveyed, according to the survey.

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Between 2008 and 2011, only five countries cut their education spending, read more here: